Slayers: Legacy
by QueenHimiko
Summary: When Gourry decides which of his children is to inherit the Blast Sword, will he see the tensions that destroyed his family of origin play out again among his own children? Set in the same continuity as Slayers: Expecting and A Little Strength Left, but neither are necessary for following. COMPLETE! Thanks to pharoah999 for her beta work!
1. Chapter 1

**AN: I do not own the Slayers and make no profit.**

He felt a brief moment of surprise as he was disarmed. In a flash he felt the hardness of the wooden sword on his throat. And then a mixture of pride and sadness bubbled within him as, for the first time, one of his children had bested him at sword play.

He watched as Gwynn's big blue eyes widened in astonishment and a huge grin erupted on her face as she realized her achievement. "Yay Gwynn!" Garrett yelled as he ran up and clapped her on the back, "That was amazing!"

A reddish tint rose to her face as she lowered her practice sword and looked at the ground in her shy manner. Gourry wrapped an arm around her, "Well done. Let's go home and tell your mother."

She nodded, and together the three of them set off to the house. Gourry kept his arm securely around her as he marveled at her talent. Of his children she was the only one who had inherited it. And while he had expected his daughters to follow in their mother's footsteps and become sorceresses, he could not have been more pleased with her.

Lucia did study magic. White magic that is. While Lina appreciated the practical aspect, she was befuddled by how any child of hers could go for something so not flashy. Gourry was amused and supportive of her decision to remain in Seyruun to train to be a Shrine Maiden, even if leaving her behind had broken his heart. He had always known they would grow up and flee the nest one day. He just did not think it would have come so fast!

Glynn was the one who had taken up black magic. Obsessively. Even Lina thought he should broaden his interests. He studied it solely to the exclusion of all else (well, with the exception of Molly Antlewood who lived five doors down). The sword was something he wouldn't even touch. Gourry kept his disappointment under wraps while Lina openly chastised him for it. He'd strike back by maintaining that as he didn't have a time of the month he had no need to worry about it.

While he was sad that his only son could not be bothered with it, he understood why. Just a few months shy of fifteen, he was barely taller than his diminutive mother. And he was as scrawny as a beanpole. Worse was the sad fact that the seizure he had as an infant had left him weak on his left side. He limped when he walked, and he just didn't have a lot of physical strength. The fortitude that his twin had in abundance had completely bypassed him. And he was exceedingly self-conscious about it. Whatever it was that had caused him to be born small and feeble had clung to him persistently. Which was why he devoted himself to black magic. It was the way he had found to compensate.

And then there was Gwynn, who stood only a few inches shorter than Gourry with broad shoulders and straw colored hair that she kept braided. She rarely talked, most likely because between Lucia and Glynn she just did not have much of an opportunity. And while she had no magical capacity whatsoever, she shined when she was on the sparring field.

"I don't think I've ever seen anyone best Uncle Gourry!" Garrett said as they walked. Just as he and Lina had left Lucia behind in Seyruun so she could train with Sylphiel and Amelia, they had taken two of Sylphiel's children with them so they could pursue their interests. "That was incredible! The boys won't believe it."

Gwynn turned a flaming shade of crimson and Gourry said, "It was bound to happen one day. She keeps getting better."

_And I keep getting older,_ he mused to himself.

"Did…" she started to ask, and then her voice trailed off.

"What?" he asked.

"You said once that you learned from your father." She said nervously. His family of origin wasn't something he talked about much. Not even to her. "Did you ever best him?"

Gourry squeezed her shoulder, "I did."

But it was not the proud moment for his father that it was for him. For his father, it heralded the realization that he now had competition. "I wonder what your mother is making for dinner." He said to change the subject.

"Well, it smells like something is burning." Garrett said as they approached the house.

Gourry nodded as he walked a little faster. Finally the house was in view and they quickly entered it to find that it was swiftly filling with smoke. "Lina!" Gourry called.

"The oven." Gwynn said.

"Not again." Garrett added as Gwynn opened the oven and flames leaped out.

"Lina! Glynn!" Gourry called as he opened the backdoor.

"Dammit!" Lina swore as she ran into the house, "Aqua Create!"

She doused their dinner as Glynn and Maria followed them into the house. "Let me guess." Garrett said, "You three got busy experimenting with some spell again."

"In a nutshell!" Glynn said enthusiastically.

"Well, this is ruined." Lina said as she pulled the remains of what should have been baked chicken from the oven.

"It's just as well," Gourry said as he put a hand on her back. "We should go out to celebrate tonight!"

"Celebrate?" Lina asked.

Gwynn looked down shyly as Gourry wrapped her into a sideways hug, "Tell them." He encouraged.

She smiled timidly as she said, "I bested Daddy in a swordfight."

"No way!" Glynn exclaimed.

Lina clapped her on the shoulder, "Way to go, Gwynn! I knew you'd do it one day! Your father is right, this does call for a celebration. Where are we eating at?"

"Would Hajaka's be good?" she asked.

"If that's what you want." Gourry said. "Everyone ready?"

* * *

"Stop yammering and get to bed before the neighbors start complaining!" Lina yelled as she passed Glynn and Garretts' room.

"We are in bed!" Glynn hollered back. Lina's hands clenched into fists and she yet again was reminded that he would make a good lawyer. A booming sound of a body falling out of bed smacked her ears, followed by raucous laughter as Glynn amended, "Well, now I'm out, but I'll get back in!"

Lina gritted her teeth as she threw the door open. "Do I have to toss a fireball in here?" she screamed.

Garrett sat on the bed and saluted her, "No, Aunt Lina. We're going to sleep."

Glynn nodded, his blue eyes beaming with fake innocence. "You won't hear a peep from us for the rest of the night."

Lina narrowed her gaze, "Good. We've got a long day's journey ahead of us tomorrow, and everyone needs to be well rested."

"I still don't see why I can't stay here." Glynn whined.

"I thought I wasn't going to hear one more peep from you!" Lina yelled.

"But I didn't say 'peep…'"

"What the, listen and then shut your mouth and go to sleep! We're celebrating your sister's birthday together as a family. And because you're not sixteen, you can't go off on your own and do whatever you please. So bright and early tomorrow we're leaving for Seyruun and having a happy family reunion, got it?"

"But you were on your own when you were thirteen."

Lina's face reddened as she found herself ignoring all of the advice people had given her about dealing with him and let him draw her into the argument. "There were extenuating circumstances. Besides, you just want to stay here to bat your eyes at Molly Antleberry and she's not in your league."

Glynn reddened, "How dare you say that about Molly!"

"Just be ready to go tomorrow! And go to sleep!" she said as she closed the door before he could find another way to aggravate her, wondering how it was that Glynn and Glynn alone was able to get under her skin so badly.

She passed the room that Gwynn and Maria were sharing and paused. They were talking softly. Battling Glynn had left her too tired to even tell them to go to bed. And it wasn't as if they were being obnoxious. So she continued to her bedroom and shut the door. Gourry was sitting on the edge of the bed, tending his armor.

Lina sat at the vanity and started to brush her hair. "I swear, every day Glynn seems to get more and more annoying!"

"Don't be too hard on him, Lina." He said, "It's a difficult age."

"Lucia and Gwynn have never given us such problems!"

"Well, it's not like he really gets in trouble, is it?"

"The way he keeps making mooneyes at Molly Antleberry like some idiot…"

"You don't mind when Gwynn does it to Garrett." He pointed out.

Lina stopped brushing her hair, "She does?"

"She doesn't say anything but she has a serious crush on him." Gourry said calmly.

"What makes you say that?"

"She blushes every time he talks to her."

"Gourry, she blushes every time someone who isn't family talks to her!"

"It's gotten worse the longer she's gotten to know him." He said, "And I caught her once on the sparring field underperforming to let him win."

"You what?" Lina exclaimed.

"Don't worry. I already set her straight. Told her a real man wouldn't be threatened by her strength."

"Oh brother. And they're under the same roof!"

"He doesn't see her that way." Gourry said quietly.

Lina's eyes narrowed. "I'll have his hide for that!"

Gourry smiled as he stowed his armor. It was strange that while Glynn had always been the frail twin, Gwynn was the one who somehow incited a fierce desire in others to protect. "I've been thinking a lot about which one to give the sword to. It has to be Gwynn."

"I thought that would have been obvious." Lina said as she sat the brush down and climbed into bed. "She's the only one who's any good with it after all."

"It's more than that." Gourry said as he pulled the covers up around them, "She is very talented. And she's also the most defenseless on her own."

Lina nodded in agreement. Somehow the magical capacity that she had and Lucia and Glynn had in abundance had completely bypassed her. Gwynn could not cast anything more complex than a light spell! "And she and Glynn seem set on traveling once they turn sixteen."

"It's more than that, though." He said. "Both Lucia and Glynn seek power."

"What's wrong with that?" she asked as she snuggled up to him.

He wrapped an arm around her and started to stroke her hair. "Too much is a bad thing. And both are already so powerful to start with. Gwynn doesn't care about such things. And that's why she deserves the sword. Because she won't abuse it."

"You don't think Lucia or Glynn would…."

"No!" he cried, "But Gwynn would be the least likely to do anything stupid with it."

"When are you going to give it to her?" she asked.

"For her birthday. I want her train with it for a year before she leaves." He was quiet for a moment before he said, "And we need to tell Lucia and Glynn first, before we give it to her. I don't think Glynn will care. He won't even come close to the sparring fields. It's Lucia I'm worried about."

Lina thought for a moment and then nodded. While Lucia was pursuing white magic she had studied sword play a little bit. She didn't have Gwynn's raw talent, but she could hold her own, though granted she was not even on par with Lina's skill. And as the oldest she might have always assumed that the legendary Blast Sword would be hers one day. And Lina was sure that Lucia could think of some experiments to run with it. "So you're going to tell her when we get to Seyruun."

"That's the plan. We need to get out, just the three of us. Then we'll pull Glynn aside. And then we'll surprise Gwynn for her birthday." He said, his voice betraying little of the nervousness he felt. What if Lucia pitched a fit over it?

Lina was silent for a moment before softly saying, "I think I should teach Glynn that spell for his birthday."

Gourry stopped stroking her hair momentarily, "What spell?"

"You know. The Giga Slave."

"The dangerous one that could destroy the world?"

"That's the one."

Gourry exhaled.

"I mean, there's a lot of dangerous things out there." Lina said, "The world probably wouldn't be here if I hadn't have cast it. I'd much rather him know it and not need it then to need it and not know it."

"That makes sense." He said.

Lina smiled tiredly, "You know, I could have sold my research into that spell to the guild for a fortune, but I never did. The less people who know it the better. That's why I want to keep it in the family. Glynn's reckless, but no more so than me when I was his age."

"If that's what you think is best." He said, "At least he has some sort of legacy. I wish we had something for Lucia."

A loud bang sounded from the boys' room before Lina could respond. She groaned as a trickle of laughter and talk followed. She tore back the covers, "If I've told you once I've told you a thousand times! Go to sleep!"

* * *

"Farewell, my sweet Molly." Glynn lamented as they reached the outskirts of Zefiel City. He stared at the unresponsive back of his mother as Gwynn smiled at him.

"You know we will be back in a few months." She said in their shared language. No one else understood it but them.

"I know." Glynn replied in the same tongue.

"Then why are you making such a big deal over it?"

He smiled, "Because it drives Mom nuts."

"I don't understand why you like to annoy her so much. She's scary when she's mad."

"I'm not scared of her." Glynn replied. "Though to be honest I really don't like Molly that much."

"So that's why you've not gone down to ask her out." She said as she tussled his hair.

"Hey!" he said as he batted her hand away, "Just because you're a head taller doesn't mean you get to rub it in!"

"Would you two stop yammering in that gibberish and let the rest of us in on your conversation?" Garrett asked as he put a hand on each other their shoulders.

"Sorry." Gwynn stammered as she turned beat red.

Glynn smiled, "It's not like we're talking about you or anything."

"I think it's fascinating." Maria said, "How did you come up with your own language?"

Glynn and Gwynn looked at each other and shrugged, "It just happened." He said. "We didn't do it deliberately or anything."

Lina nodded, "Yeah. They've been doing it since they were babies. They learned human as they were creating their own language. At first I thought you two were just babbling at each other. But then I started to notice that what one babbled seemed to mean something to the other one. I thought I was going crazy until another woman in Zefiel City who had several twins told me that they come up with their own language."

"Wow. Does Lucia understand it?" Maria asked.

Gwynn and Glynn shared a laugh. "She likes to pretend like she does!" Glynn said.

"I'm surprised you allow this, Aunt Lina." Garrett said, "For all you know they could be talking about you!"

"If they want to talk about me, they're going to talk about me." Lina said. "Besides, I figured it was a strength of theirs that could be useful one day. And I'm not one to stifle strength."

"You just can't stand weakness." Glynn muttered in twin speak.

"Neither can you." Gwynn replied.

"There they go again." Garrett said.

"Why does it bother you so much?" Glynn asked.

"I just don't like feeling left out."

Glynn clasped his sister on the shoulder as he resumed in their private language, "Well Gwynnie, may be not all hope is lost if he doesn't want to feel left out!"

Gwynn's eyes widened, "Leave it alone! There's no way it would happen!"

Garrett's eyes narrowed, "Now I know you're talking about me!"

* * *

"You okay?" Lina asked as Glynn stopped by a tree stump and set his weaker leg against it. He'd held up well through the morning, but a few hours after they had stopped for lunch he had started to lag behind a little.

"Nothing, I just need to stretch my leg out is all." He said.

There was a strange look in her eyes as she watched him, a strange look that she often wore when confronted with his frailties. He hated weakness as much she did and went to great lengths to hide it, to say that he just needed to stretch, but she knew how taxing traveling was for him. And she worried how he would fair as a traveling sorcerer.

"Why don't we try some of those variations on the Blast Ash spell we were talking about?" Lina asked as she put a hand on his back. "I mean, it'd be a shame to let that perfectly good clearing go to waste."

He grinned, "You're on!"

"Where are you two going?" Garrett called from down the road.

"We're getting in some practice." Glynn said.

Soon all six of their party was in the clearing. Gourry sparred with Gwynn and Garrett while Lina, Glynn, and Maria worked on spell research. After an hour they got back on the road again, chatting amiably with one another. Garrett and Maria hung back from the group to talk and Lina and Glynn took the middle, chatting excitedly about some of the results they got, the break giving him the second wind he needed. Gourry wrapped his arm companionably around Gwynn as they headed the front. Once again she had bested him.

Gourry smiled as he thought about how traveling always seemed to bring out the best in everyone. Particularly Lina and Glynn. Both shared a strong sense of wanderlust and got antsy if they hung around one place for too long. The weeks before traveling were always full of fights and bickering between the two that seemed to vanish on the open road.

Though, he amended to himself as the tenor of the conversation changed, not completely.

"When are you going to teach me the Giga Slave?" he asked.

"Who told you about that spell?" she asked, her voice rising in pitch as his question completely caught her off guard, "I'm damn sure that you didn't read about it."

Gourry winched. It was a low blow. Reading was one of the things that Glynn hated to do. Gourry could relate. One day after a heated argument with Lina when he was a young boy he found Glynn sulking in the woods. "Reading just doesn't make a lot of sense, does it?" he had asked.

Glynn looked at him warily as he continued, "I know when I try to do it it's hard to remember what sounds go with what letters."

"That's normal for you." Glynn countered, "You can't remember anything!"

Gourry sat beside him and put an arm around him, "What's it like when you try to read?"

Glynn was quiet for a moment before answering, "I keep trying but it's still so hard! And Mom just says I'm not paying attention or trying…"

He bit his lower lip as it trembled ominously. Gourry squeezed his arm gently, "It's hard for her to understand when it comes so easy to her that some things just don't come so easily to others."

Glynn turned as red as his hair as he shouted, "I knew you'd defend her! You always see her side!"

"I'm not taking sides, I'm just making sure everyone understands everyone." Gourry said calmly. "I'll talk to her, too. I the meantime, I want you to know that I know you're trying and I understand how hard it is."

They sat quietly for awhile as they watched the stream flow. Finally Glynn said softly, "Thanks."

Gourry later tried to explain to Lina just how hard reading can be, but she had just told him he was making excuses for Glynn. To this day it remained a sore point between them, especially as Lina was adamant that to become truly great at sorcery you had to do your homework.

"So what if I didn't ruin my eye sight by studying for hours under a light spell?" he retorted, "I did the smart thing and listened to the things people say about you."

"Oh?" Lina asked, and out of the corner of his eye he noticed Gwynn grimace. "And what are they saying?"

"That you nearly destroyed the world by casting it to kill Hellmaster Phibrizzo."

"Well, that's a leaving a lot out." Lina said, "But that's not the point. Who did you hear about that spell from?"

"Why is it so important that you know?" he replied.

Lina grinded her teeth, "I like to keep that spell under wraps. I've never even published any of my research into it. And yes, there is a reason, and it's because the spell is very dangerous and could destroy the world. So I do have a vested interest in learning about who is talking about the spell."

"In that case," Glynn said as he folded his arms around his chest, "Aunt Luna."

Lina groaned, "Of course she would butt in. Anyway, what makes you think I'm going to teach you such a dangerous spell?"

"Because, I'm your sole child following in your footsteps."

"I pray for the fate of the world, then." Lina replied caustically.

"But Lina," Gourry said, "Didn't you say you were planning on teaching…"

"Shut up, Gourry!" Lina snapped before turning her attention back to Glynn. "Listen, if you want to mess with dangerous Chaotic Magic then you're going to have to show me that you can be trusted with it! It already worries me to no end that you can perform a Dragon Slave!"

"You're one to talk!" Glynn shot back. "What is it they call you? The Walking Force of Destruction?"

"That's rich considering how many times I've saved this world! Using the knowledge I amassed on my own, through my own hard work and research. What makes you think I'm going to give it to you on a silver platter?"

Gourry sighed, "I don't know why you're putting up such a front, Lina." He said as cluelessly as possible, "You already told me you were going to teach him when he turns fifteen."

Glynn yelped as he leapt in the air while Lina glared daggers at her husband, "Way to ruin the surprise, Gourry."

Gwynn reached her hand up to squeeze his, and out of the corner of her eye he noticed her relax. His wife might be mad at him. May be so mad that they would book two rooms instead of three for the night. Or maybe she would still want their own room so she could have his hide. But at least he had stopped Lina and Glynns' argument from becoming an explosive fight.

* * *

"It's good to be back in Seyruun." Lina said as she unpacked her bags.

Lucia smiled at her, "But when you get to Zefiria you say the exact same thing."

"Yeah, well, there's things I like about both." Lina said. "Hey Gwynn, why don't you share your news with your sister?"

"Oh," Gwynn said as she fiddled with a stray lock of hair that had come loose from her braid, "I bested Daddy in a sword fight."

"No way!" Lucia exclaimed, her blue eyes wide. As an adult even Lina could not deny her resemblance to Luna. And every day she thanked her lucky stars that Lucia had the sense to wear her hair long.

Gwynn nodded shyly as Lucia let out a low whistle. "Never doubted your could do it. So, are you and Glynn still set on monster hunting in another year?"

Gwynn nodded as Lucia's eyes suddenly tracked something her mother was unpacking. "What's in that box?"

"Oh," Lina said as she hurriedly stowed it in the drawer. "Nothing. How is training going here?"

"Fantastic!" Lucia said, "I'm making a name for myself as an exorcist. For whatever reason Seyruun has been plagued with a lot of hauntings lately. Keeps me busy and entertained."

"Hunting ghosts?" Lina asked as she folded a pair of pants.

"Not hunting, vanquishing them to other realms is more like it." Lucia corrected.

"My daughter the ghost vanquisher. Hm. I like it." She said contemplatively, "So, does anyone have any idea what's behind this uprising in activity?"

"Well," Lucia began as someone knocked on the door.

"I'll get it." Gwynn said, figuring that the conversation from then on out would go over her head. She swiftly walked through the apartments and opened the door to find Benny, Zel and Amelia's sole child, standing there holding a platter with a lemon meringue pie on it.

"Hi Gwynn." He said softly, his big green eyes shining, "I heard that you just got back."

"Yes." Gwynn said plainly, surprised that it wasn't Amelia or Zel or one of her parents' other friends. "Are you here to see Lucia?"

"No, actually," he stammered as he held the platter up, "I made this pie earlier. I thought you might want it."

"Oh." Gwynn said as she blushed and stared at the pie, "But I don't like lemon meringue."

"Oh." Benny said, looking slightly crestfallen as footsteps reverberated through the hallway and Glynn suddenly squeezed his way into the door around Benny.

"Lemon meringue, awesome!" Glynn said as he grabbed the pie and made a bee-line for the couch. "Where are your manners, Gwynn, invite him in already!"

Glynn stuffed his face with pie as Gwynn blushed even more fiercely, "Of course, do you want to come in?"

"Yes." Benny said as Gourry followed him into the room.

"Hey Benny, you doing okay?" he asked.

"Yes, Uncle Gourry." Benny said as he took a seat.

"How are your parents?"

"They're well. There's some big negotiations going on that's keeping them tied up, but I'm sure they'll be down for dinner."

"Can't wait to see them." Gourry said before making his exit, "Excuse me, I haven't seen Lucia in awhile."

"Benny, this is delicious!" Glynn proclaimed as he licked his fingers.

"I know." Benny replied.

"Did you make it?"

"Yes. I didn't make it for you though."

"Who would have thought that a royal would make such a good cook?" Glynn mused as Benny shifted uncomfortably as Glynn continued, "So tell me, where do all of the cute girls hang out around here?"

Benny blushed as his eyes flickered towards Gwynn briefly, "Well…"

Glynn's eyes widened. "Gwynn? You like Gwynn? Hey, Sis! Looks like you've got a prince for a suitor! Between Garrett and Benny you will have your pick! But which will you choose?"

Benny's mouth hung open as a rare look of anger flashed through Gwynn's eyes. "That's not funny!" she said before getting up and heading to her room.

Glynn shrugged nonchalantly as he licked the remains of the lemon meringue pie from the platter. "So," he asked with a devious grin, "What are your intentions towards my sister?"

* * *

"One of the pitfalls of being a Shrine Maiden is that no one ever takes you out to dinner." Lucia said as she peered at the menu.

Lina looked at her, with her long purple hair that fell around her round, symmetrical face and covered her enviable body, curvy in the right places, slender where it counts. It was no surprise she turned heads wherever she went. "No one forced you to become a Shrine Maiden!" Lina pointed out, "And it's not like it's a lifelong commitment. I do want grandchildren one day you know."

Lucia shrugged as the waiter came up and they placed their orders. It was after the main course was demolished and they were waiting on dessert that Gourry exchanged a glance with Lina, who cleared her throat. "Your father and I have something we need to talk to you about."

"Oh?" Lucia said as she sat her wine glass down.

Lina looked at Gourry, "It's about the Blast Sword." He said, "Gwynn's birthday is coming up. And since she's the swordswoman and since she can't use magic, I'm going to give it to her."

There was a tense moment of silence as Lucia drained her wine in one gulp. She snapped her fingers to get the attention of her waiter, "Can I have a fresh glass?"

The waiter nodded and scurried off as Lina and Gourry watched her tensely. Nervously Gourry continued, "I know you're the oldest…"

"But you never told me it would be mine." Lucia said quietly with a small smile. "It hurts. I'm not going to lie. But I can't think of anyone who deserves it more than Gwynnie."

Gourry relaxed noticeably as he got up to hug her and plant a kiss on the crown of her head. He sat back down so they were eye level as he said, "Where I came from people would rather kill than give the sword to the best one for it. I'm proud of you."

* * *

"Well, this is a first." Lina said as she scooted off Gourry's lap as Glynn came charging into the apartment.

"What?" he asked.

"You getting home before your sister."

"Gwynn's not home?" He asked before shrugging, "Well, I'm just stopping by. Needed to pick up something."

"Do you have a minute?" Gourry asked, patting the seat beside him.

He sighed as he sat down, "What did I do this time?"

"Nothing." Gourry said, "We just need to talk to you about the Blast Sword."

His dark blue eyes lit up, just like his mother's did when she eyed something valuable. "You're giving it to me?"

The hope that saturated his voice was unmistakable. Lina and Gourry exchanged a befuddled look before Gourry said, "Well, actually, we're giving it to Gwynn on her birthday."

Gourry felt tension surge through him as Glynn looked down, his expression dark. "Of course. On the day she was born she got all of the strength and height. So of course she would get the sword."

Lina scowled, "What do you want it for anyway? It's not as if you've ever picked up a sword."

"Because the Blast Sword is so powerful it wouldn't matter!"

The look of disappointment Gourry sent him made him even more defensive as he said, "I raised you better than that! Even a person wielding the most powerful sword in the world will lose if that person doesn't know how to use it."

"But I can use magic, too!" Glynn protested.

Lina's hand balled into a fist, "It wouldn't matter! You've never conditioned your body to fight with a sword, you've just sat on your…"

"Lina." Gourry said gently as he put a hand on her knee.

"He has to hear it, Gourry!" she snapped, "You have to work for the things you get, you have to earn them!"

"Says the woman who got rich pilfering from bandits." Glynn retorted.

Lina flushed crimson, "Oh, you are asking for it…"

Gourry squeezed her knee, "I know you're disappointed, but you do have amazing strength. You can wield tremendous power just by uttering some words. Gwynn can't do that. There are powerful creatures out there, and a regular sword won't harm them. Gwynn needs this."

"Then why aren't you on her case for not practicing magic, huh? Why are you just giving her strength and power?"

"She can't!" Lina said, "It's something you're born with! She has no magical capacity!"

"Then why don't you believe me when I say I can't read? Or that it hurts to practice with the sword or…?"

"We're not talking about any of that!" Lina shouted, "We're giving the sword to Gwynn, and you can whine and complain all you want but that's not going to change and it's final!"

"You just like Gwynn more! Everyone likes Gwynn more, and coddles her and…"

The door opened, and the matter of subject walked in. "I heard shouting." She said quietly as she took in the scene. Gourry had his head cradled in his hands while Lina and Glynn were both red faced and shaking.

"Well aren't you the observant one!" Glynn yelled as he turned to face her.

"Glynn, leave her alone." Lina said.

"Of course, rush in to defend her! Everyone takes Gwynn's side! Everyone forgets how if she hadn't have damaged me before she was born…"

"Glynn!" Gourry admonished as he stood up.

"Congrats." He said as he turned to face Gwynn, "Tell me your secret one day, about how you were a vampire in the womb and then somehow manipulated everyone's sympathies so they laid with you!"

And with that he turned to run from the apartments.

"Oh no you don't!" Lina said as she got up to run after him.

Gourry grabbed her arm, "Let him cool off."

"Not when he's acting like…"

"And when was the last time he listened to anything you said?" he asked.

Lina grunted in exasperation as she tossed her arms up. "Fine." She said as she headed towards her bedroom, leaving a very confused Gwynn with Gourry.

She looked at him, her blue eyes shimmering as she asked, "What did I do, Daddy?"


	2. Chapter 2

A young shrine maiden that Gwynn did not recognize answered the stately double doors leading to the shrine maiden's dormitory. "Can I help you?" she asked.

Gwynn looked down, "Is Lucia here?"

"Yes, I'll go get her."

Gwynn nodded and the fidgeted anxiously as the shrine maiden closed the door to fetch her sister. She did not have to wait long. "Gwynn?" Lucia asked as she stepped outside the dormitory. One quick glance told her that Gwynn was not there for a friendly chat, "What's wrong?"

"Can we talk? Privately?" Gwynn whispered.

Lucia put a hand on her arm and started to navigate them towards the courtyard. "Sure."

Lucia studied Gwynn contemplatively as she bit her lip and fiddled with a stray lock of hair anxiously. Whatever was the matter had obviously upset her. Her eyes were still red rimmed. At last they reached the courtyard. "What happened?"

Gwynn took a deep breath and stared at a potted plant as she asked, "Am I the reason that Glynn limps?"

Lucia's eyes widened in surprise, "What gave you that stupid idea?"

"It makes sense." Gwynn said, "I was born so healthy and he nearly didn't make it. Was it because I sapped his strength and hurt him when we were in the womb?"

Lucia stared at her piercingly, "You just got lucky."

Gwynn brushed away a tear from her eyes as she repeated doubtfully, "Lucky?"

Lucia sighed, and realized that her explanation was not a very good one. And while she was specializing in white magic, she focused more on purification and exorcisms than healing. She put an arm around her, "Let's talk to Aunt Sylphiel. She delivered you and knows the gory details."

Gwynn thought for a moment and then nodded. Quietly they walked back into the palace. "Where did this come from anyway?" Lucia asked, "You've never worried about it before."

"May be it was always there in the back of my mind and I've never talked about it." Gwynn replied.

"Then why are you talking about it now?"

Gwynn took a deep breath, "Glynn is mad at me. He said I was a vampire in the womb."

"Glynn what?" Lucia yelled, and then remembered to lower her voice when she saw the look of horror flash across her sister's face. A few people stared at them as they passed but quickly went about their business.

"He's mad at me." Gwynn finally repeated.

It didn't take long for Lucia to put two and two together. She thought briefly about telling Gwynn about their father's decision to give her the Blast Sword but quickly decided against it. Gwynn would give him the sword in a heartbeat if it meant being on good terms with Glynn again. "He and Mom probably got in another argument and he's taking it out on you." Lucia said, "He'll cool off, it will blow over. Don't worry about it so much."

"He's never said such things before!" Gwynn protested as they approached the door to Sylphiel's chambers.

Lucia knocked, "Just don't let him get to you."

Sylphiel looked surprised to see them when she opened the door. "Lucia? Gwynn? All of my children are out if that's who you're looking for."

"Actually we want to talk to you." Lucia explained.

"Oh." She said, her eyebrows rising slightly in surprise as she stepped back, "Come in."

Lucia and Gwynn took a seat on the sofa. "What can I do for you?" Sylphiel asked as she sat down on a chair.

"I need to know." Gwynn said quietly, "I need to know if I'm the reason that Glynn is small and limps."

"What makes you think that you were the cause?" Sylphiel asked.

"Well, I'm tall and strong and he isn't. Is it because I took all of his strength before we were born? Did I cause the seizure?"

"Hmm." Sylphiel said contemplatively. "By that reasoning, then do you think that the reason he can use magic and you can't is because he took it from you?"

Gwynn's eyes widened, "I never thought of that."

"Because having a twin has nothing to do with magical ability or whether or not some has a seizure. You and Glynn would have been the way that you are if you had not been twins. Babies who are born without twins are small and some have seizures. There's no reason to think that it was something that you did." Sylphiel said reassuringly.

Gwynn smiled. "Thanks."

* * *

The corridors were a dull grey stone that was so porous that the blood seeped deep into it, a permanent stain that could never be washed away. The hallway smelled of death and decay and was lined with the heads of those who had been killed in the squabble over who would inherit the sword. His legs shook as he walked, careful not to slip on the blood that covered the hallway. He knew what was coming. But even with that foresight he could not prevent himself from continuing down the hallway.

The metallic clink of two swords clashing reverberated down the hallway. He knew that he was moments away from seeing himself fiercely battling his brother. What did it say about their family that a man would kill his own brother in a quest for possession and power?

Nothing that he could do would change the dream's ending. Even in dreams you can't reverse death.

The sounds of the sword fight grew loud as the hallway opened into a drawing room. Gourry froze as he finally caught sight of the fighters. For once it was not himself and his brother. It was the twins, their eyes brimming with hatred and faces contorted with rage as they fought viciously.

"No!" he cried as their swords swung high in the air.

They did not seem to hear him as both of them brought their sword to the other, running each other through at the same precise moment.

"No!" he screamed as he shot up in bed.

"Gourry!" Lina cried as she sat up and put a hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

He took a deep breath as he wiped his eyes. "It was just a dream."

She gently stroked his hair as she said, "You are going to tell me about it."

"It was just a dream." He repeated.

"A bad one." Lina said, "Let me guess. What Glynn said about wanting the Blast Sword is really bothering you."

"I didn't think he would care!" Gourry said, "I mean, we took Lucia out to a nice restaurant to break the news to her, and we just tossed it out there for him. I never thought he would have wanted it."

"He's just being difficult." Lina said, "By next week he won't even care."

When he said nothing she sighed irritably, "Look, stop worrying about it! He'll come around soon, and if not then I won't teach him the Giga Slave until he drops it."

His eyes narrowed, "Don't. That would make things worse."

"He doesn't deserve to learn it if he can't do this wisely."

He turned to face her, "Just leave it be. I will talk to him, I'm better at getting through to him. Just stay out of it."

"How can you ask me to stay out of this when it's having this effect on you?" Lina asked.

He cupped her face with his hand, tracing a finger gently across her cheek, "It will be the best thing. Please Lina."

"I'm his mother!"

He responded by pulling her to him and bringing his lips to her jawbone, planting a series a kisses along it. She trembled with pleasure as she whispered, "Not fair. You know what that does to me."

"Promise me you'll stay out of it." He said before he nuzzled at her ear.

She inhaled, and decided it wouldn't hurt to try things his way for once. "Fine, I promise."

* * *

"What's this?" Lina asked as she came into the living room to find Glynn holding a wooden sword.

"I want Dad to train me." He said matter-of-factly.

"Is this some kind of joke?" Lina asked, "You've never wanted him to…"

"I thought about what you said last night, and you're right." He said.

Lina nearly fell over as Gourry followed her out into the living room. "Huh?"

"If I'm going to get the Blast Sword, then I should know how to use it."

"You should have thought of that years ago!" Lina shouted. "Do you honestly think you can get to Gwynn's level…"

Gourry put a hand on her shoulder as he said to his son, "Let's take a walk."

"To the sparring field." Glynn said as he headed out the door.

"Sure." Gourry said as he followed him.

Once they were in the hallway Gourry said, "This isn't like you."

"To work hard?" Glynn asked.

"No, to take an interest in sword play. You've always worked hard. You've had to to survive. But you've always played to your strengths."

"Well, you and Mom are always saying I need to diversify my interests. And I've got a year to it."

"There's nothing wrong with that." Gourry said, "But it's not going to change anything. You should know that if you do get to her level, she will still get the sword."

"That's not fair!" Glynn retorted.

"Life isn't fair." Gourry said calmly, "What does the sword mean to you?"

The guards opened the palace doors as they approached and stepped into the courtyard. "Power." Glynn said.

"You have all of the power you need within your hands." Gourry pointed out. "You don't need the sword."

"You talk about power as though it is finite." Glynn said, "You can always accrue more!"

"But at what price?" Gourry asked as they walked down the steps towards the sparring field. "Your grandfather and great uncle and uncle all thought that power was worth its cost in the blood of their kin. Do you?"

Glynn's eyes widened, "What are you talking about?"

"Do you want power so much that you are willing to kill to possess the Blast Sword?"

"No!" Glynn protested.

"Good." He said. "So you want to train? Then run ten laps around the palace. And think about why you want the sword. Once you're done we'll go through some basic drills."

"Ten laps!" Glynn exclaimed.

"Being a good swordsman is more than footwork. You have to have strength, endurance, and agility. And you get that by running laps." Gourry said. He did not mention that Glynn should be aware of that fact. On days when they weren't traveling he was usually up with Gwynn at the crack of dawn for their morning run.

Glynn's dark blue eyes set in a determined manner as he took a deep breath and started on his run.

* * *

There were a lot of things that Gourry loved about teaching swordsmanship. He enjoyed watching his students gain mastery over their weapon. The pride he felt with each accomplishment they earned. The knowledge that he was passing on priceless wisdom to a new generation that he hoped would do good with it.

And then there were the parts that he hated. Especially when it came to teaching them to his own children. Simply put, it was painful to learn sword fighting. While Gourry was well aware that some swordmasters liked delivering blows to novices, Gourry saw it as a necessary evil. Yes, it was better that they get some bruises from a blunt wooden instrument than cut open from a real sword. But it didn't make delivering the blows any easier.

He had had a hard time delivering them to Lina, who he had sworn to protect, when she had asked for some pointers to improve her game. And he had been completely unable to teach the basics to his daughters because of it. Lina was the one who had gotten them started. Lucia fortunately lost interest before she advanced too much. Gwynn was another story. She swiftly plateaued with her mother, and after a lot of pressure from Lina he finally relented and trained her himself.

It was not easy. And he felt sick to his stomach every time he whacked her. But the determined set to her eyes never wavered and she trained hard. And he was quick to spot that she did indeed have the talent. And soon she was making him proud.

And now here he was, back to teaching the basics with his son. Practicing the parries was the worst. Gourry attacked him with a stroke from the side. Glynn brought his sword up to defend himself, but his stance was wrong, and Gourry smacked him in the ribs.

"Ow!" Glynn cried.

"Ready to try again?" Gourry asked.

Glynn wiped the sweat from his brow and nodded. They practiced a few more parries before Gourry let Glynn attack him with some moves that Gourry had taught him after he had finished his laps and with the instructions that Glynn pay attention to how he parried Glynn's attacks. After giving Glynn a turn to see how an experienced swordsman dodged a blow, it was once again Glynn's turn to parry.

Gourry was satisfied to see that Glynn had learned something. He wasn't his best student and he didn't seem to have Gwynn's raw talent, but he also wasn't the worst. With some training Gourry was convinced that he would be able to hold his own, especially with his training in Black Magic.

The sun grew high in the sky. "Looks to be about lunch time." He said, "You ready to get some food?"

"Either that or a hot bath." Glynn said as he put the wooden sword down.

"It will get better." Gourry said as he ruffled his hair. "You did well today."

An indecipherable look passed through Glynn's face, "And I'll do better tomorrow."

* * *

"Why were you practicing swordplay with Daddy?" Gwynn asked as Glynn walked into the dining area.

"What's it to you?" Glynn retorted in their language as he went and sat far away from her.

Gwynn finished drinking her milk and stormed off. Fortunately Lina was busy talking to Amelia and Sylphiel and didn't notice. Lucia was another matter. Quietly she sat beside him and asked, "Would you kindly remove that stick from your ass?"

"Shrine maidens shouldn't talk like that."

"What's your problem anyway? Do you really think taking a few swords lessons is going to change anything?"

"Don't tell me you're not jealous that you're not getting the sword." Glynn replied.

Lucia's face reddened, "What am I supposed to do about it? Join forces with you and make Daddy give it to us, and then engage with you in a knock down fight to the death?"

"Doesn't it bug you that we will get nothing?" Glynn asked.

"It bothers me more that you'd tell Gwynn that she was the one who damaged you!"

"What did she tell you?" Glynn said as he reddened, "I was mad!"

"That's no excuse!"

"It's no excuse for her to go blabbing to you like a whiney little tattle tale!"

A crisp smacking sound rang through the dining room, instantly causing the conversation going around the table to cease as Lucia stood up, red faced and blue eyes flaming with her arm raised and ready to slap Glynn again.

"Fine." He said as he threw his napkin down, "Everyone defends her. Later."

Lucia took a few deep breaths as Glynn walked out and then she looked at Amelia and Sylphiel, "I guess I still have to work on my temper before I move up the ladder."

* * *

"So, what are you and Mom going to do once you have all of us out of your hair next year?" Lucia asked as she walked arm and arm with her father through the courtyard.

Gourry shrugged. "Haven't given it much thought."

The truth was he had not wanted to give it much thought. If he had had his way, none of them would have aged past ten. He missed the noise and activity that came with having small children terribly. He did not want to think about the empty house he would face in the upcoming year.

"How about you?" he asked, working hard to keep his tone neutral, "Are you planning to stay here?"

"Yes. I'm having the time of my life!" she said.

He smiled. He was happy she'd found work she liked, but she wished she could have found it closer to Zefiria.

"Hey Gwynn!" Lucia called suddenly as she waved her hand wildly, "Practice going good?"

They changed direction to approach Gwynn, who was going through her drills. Instantly Gourry wondered why she wasn't returning Lucia's greeting. "Everything okay?" Lucia asked as they got closer.

Gwynn's eyes narrowed. "I don't have a lot to say to you right now."

Lucia looked stricken, "Huh?"

"Glynn told me you told him about our conversation the other night! He's even madder at me because of it. Why couldn't you have kept your mouth shut?"

Gourry felt himself tense as he wondered what he was missing as Lucia's lips pursed in annoyance, "Well, it wasn't as if you told me to stay quiet about it."

"I shouldn't have to!" Gwynn shouted.

"That's enough." Gourry said, "It's bad enough that both of you are arguing with Glynn, must you two fight as well?"

"Stay out of it, Daddy!" Lucia said as Gwynn resumed a fighting stance and went back to her drills. With a sigh, Lucia turned and headed back to the palace.

Gourry felt like tearing his hair out as he wished desperately for the time when they were smaller.

* * *

"So now Gwynn isn't talking to either of them, and Glynn and Lucia are fighting every time they bump into each other." Lina surmised as Zel dealt the cards.

"All siblings fight from time to time." Amelia said, "It will blow over."

"That's what we thought at first." Lina said as she counted her chips, "But that was over a week ago!"

"And it's only gotten worse." Gourry said dejectedly as Lina put a hand on his arm.

"Why don't you just tell Gwynn why Glynn is mad?" Zel asked.

"I'm scared she'd give the sword to him to mend the gap between them." Gourry said quietly.

"Gwynn's quiet, she's not a pushover." Lina said.

"I still don't see how it will change anything." Gourry said.

"May be this is more of an area for Sylphiel." Amelia suggested. "She's got six children after all."

Lina and Gourry exchanged a look. "We did." Lina said, "She said to stay out of it as much as possible and let them work it out. She said it as though it was easy!"

"Well, Lucia is an adult, and Gwynn and Glynn are nearly grown. You're not going to be able to control them too much." Zel said.

Gourry's eyes seemed to brim as Lina contemplated her cards. "Fold."

* * *

"Lucia?" Lina exclaimed as they passed her in the hallway on their way back from Zel and Amelia's. "What happened?"

Lucia's blue eyes widened like one caught doing something she knew was wrong. Her clothes were torn and already a bruise was forming along her cheek. "Umm…" she began.

"Did someone attack you?" Gourry asked.

"No." Lucia said as she looked down, "I got into it with Glynn. He probably looks worse than I do right now."

Gourry grabbed the wall for support as the color drained from his face, "Is he okay?"

"Oh, he's fine, his pride is probably bruised more than anything else."

Lina's eyebrow was twitching ominously, "How old are you again? And you're fighting like…?"

Gourry put a hand on her arm as he looked at Lucia, "Are you okay?"

"Nothing a recovery spell won't fix."

"Then go take care of yourself. And stay away from Glynn until you can show more control." He said, his voice unusually cold.

It was amazing how a lecture screamed at her by her mother did little to move her, but one look of disappointment flashing across the face of her father could wound her terribly. She bit her lip, "I'm sorry Daddy." She said as she went back to the temple.

* * *

"Gourry, wake up!" she commanded as she shook him.

His cried out in grief as he twisted away from her. Pain lashed her to the core as she grabbed his shoulders and shook him hard, "I said wake up! It's just a dream!"

His breathing changed, and she gently rubbed his back, "It was just a dream." She repeated quietly as it took all of her willpower to keep her from rounding up her children to show them what their arguing was doing to their father.

He turned and grabbed her, burying his face in her chest as he sobbed. She stroked his hair as she comforted him, "It's just growing pains." She said quietly, "They'll grow out of it soon."

"My brother didn't." Gourry said quietly.

Lina's ears perked. She could count on one hand the number of times he'd mentioned his brother. "Neither of them are your brother."

"No." Gourry said as he took a deep, rasping breath.

Silence filled the room as they held each other and Lina wrestled with feelings of helplessness. She had one card she could lay down to make it better. But Gourry had enticed her to promise not to use it. Yet as she held him as though he were a small child she realized that this was one of those times she was going to have to break a promise she made to him.

She had to act! She had to do something, anything to see him happy again.

* * *

He was so sore that getting out of bed seemed to be a gargantuan task. While he seemed to be gaining more upper body strength in his left arm, his left leg continued to throb and ache painfully. Slowly he got up as he wondered how he was going to make it through his training, grimacing at the pain that shot through his leg as he did so.

Someone knocked on the door. "What?" Glynn said as he ran a hand through his hair.

His mother opened the door, looking unusually somber. "I need to talk to you." She said.

"Then talk."

"This has gone on long enough." Lina said as she placed her hands on her hips in an intimidating manner. "Drop it. Make nice with your sisters. Or I won't teach you the Giga Slave."

Glynn looked up at her and their eyes locked, tension sparkling between them. "Fine." He said, "I'll read about it on my own."

Lina's eyes widened, "You wouldn't know where to start looking!"

"Yes I do. The basement, where you keep all of your research." He said.

Lina reddened as her sole trump card seemed to smolder to ashes, "Dammit, Glynn, how long are you going to keep this up?"

"Mind if I come in?" Gourry said.

"Why not?" Glynn said with a shrug.

Lina stared at her husband, "I did what I promised you I wouldn't do."

"I know." He said quietly. "And I can be mad at you and the whole family will be fighting or I can move on. Besides, there's something I should have told you a long time ago."

"Huh?" she asked.

"Do you want to move to the living room, so we can all sit down?" he asked.

Glynn shrugged and got up, doing his best to mask his limp as he said, "I'm not changing my mind."

Lina rolled her eyes and followed him out into the living room. Once they were all seated, Gourry began, "I probably should have said something a long time ago. When you children were small, so you three would know why this is so important to me. But I don't like to think about it, so I never talked about it. I've never even told your mother why I ran away with the Sword of Light."

Lina looked at him, surprised as he grabbed her hand while Glynn watched him steadily. "I've told you my family spilt blood to possess the sword."

Glynn nodded.

"What I didn't say was that my own brother tried to kill me. He was older, and he had a right to it, but after watching my father and uncle fight bitterly for it all his life he didn't want to risk that I would challenge him for it one day. It was a fight to the death." He said, "His death."

Gourry was quiet for a moment as Lina put a hand over her mouth while Glynn's eyes widened perceptibly. Slowly Gourry continued, "I'd never wanted to spill the blood of my family, but I ended up doing it. Because growing up, owning a sword meant more than family. I tried to raise you three to value family more, but I see now that I've failed."

He smiled tiredly as he continued, "Like I said, may be if I had told you growing up you would have understood. But I hoped I could raise you that way without having to tell you."

Glynn moved his gaze to the floor as Gourry stood up. "I'm going to go for a walk." He announced as he squeezed Lina's hand briefly before leaving the apartments.

Lina was quiet for a moment before she looked at Glynn, "He's been having nightmares."

"So, you two think I'd try to kill Gwynn?" he asked.

Lina felt her face meet her palm, "I don't think that's what he was saying at all!"

"I would never hurt her!"

Lina's face flushed, "Well you are hurting her, carrying on the way you are!"

"And everyone seems to forget that she hurt me! Crippling me!"

Lina's eyes flashed, "It wasn't her fault!"

"Sure, defend her." Glynn said as he stood up.

Lina opened her mouth to say something, but by the time he had left it had died in her mouth.

* * *

It did not take Glynn long to find his father. Gourry made no outward indication that he knew he was there, but Glynn knew better. It was impossible to sneak up on him. "I don't value the sword more than I do our family." He said.

Gourry looked at him and started walking deeper into the woods. "Then prove it."

Glynn was quiet for a moment before he followed him. "I've been thinking about what you asked me, why I want the sword."

"Oh." Gourry said.

"And there are a lot of reasons!" Glynn said, "Some of which you probably understand. It means something to our family for one thing."

"It does." Gourry conceded.

"And I could be the one to pass that heirloom through the generations." Glynn said.

"There's only one sword." Gourry pointed out, "And you could have many children and find yourself in the problem I am in."

Glynn looked down, "Well, I always figured I'd give it to whichever one I like best."

Gourry nearly stopped in his tracks. "You are just like you mother." He mumbled.

"Huh?"

"Listen," Gourry said as he turned to face him, "You think I want to give the Blast Sword to Gwynn because I like her the best?"

"Well, yeah! I mean, she's the one who has followed in your footsteps, making you proud and…"

"It's not like that!" Gourry said. "When you have children may be you'll understand, but you don't have favorites!"

"Every parent says that!" Glynn persisted.

"It's not something that can be measured!" Gourry said, "I can't even say I love each of you equally because I love each of you in different ways and for different reasons. It doesn't compare!"

Glynn flushed as the conversation rapidly became uncomfortable while his father continued, "Do you know how much I love your mother?"

Glynn's eyes widened, "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Answer the question."

"It's embarrassing, the way you two…you know." Glynn said as he avoided his eyes.

Gourry put a hand on his shoulder, "She was what gave my life purpose after I left home. She became my world and I quickly devoted my life to her. I swam through a kiosk to get her back after she overdid it with a spell one time!"

Glynn's face scrunched up inscrutably as he tried to make sense of that statement while Gourry continued. "And for the longest time she could never see all that she meant to me either. Yes, I love Gwynn because she reminds me of me, and because she has my strengths, and because I see myself in her. And I love you because you remind me of your mother, and everything I love about her. Your strengths are hers. Hell, the reason you two grate on each other's nerves so much is because you see your weaknesses mirrored in each other and can't stand to look at them."

Glynn bit his lip as he stared at the ground while Gourry squeezed his shoulders, "So don't you dare think that Gwynn is my favorite, or that I love her or Lucia more. Especially when you remind me of the person who I chose to protect and spend my days with. And I did not make that choice lightly."

Gourry pulled into him an embrace, and after a moment Glynn returned it. Gourry gave him a small smile as they separated, and he headed back towards to castle.

* * *

"Mom?" Gwynn asked as she walked into the apartments, having just gotten back from her morning run. "Have you been crying?"

Lina wiped her eyes and wondered why the hell she hadn't gone to her room. With three kids running in and out all of the time it wasn't as if she'd had any reason to expect any sort of privacy in the living room for awhile. "So what if I have been?"

Gwynn studied her carefully for a moment as she sat down beside her. "Is it because we're fighting?"

Lina smiled tiredly and put a hand on her arm. "It's something else."

"Can I do anything to make it better?"

Lina shook her head. "Don't worry about it. Besides, shouldn't you be out having fun and not worrying about me?"

"Everyone I know is friends with Glynn." She said, "And he doesn't want to have anything to do with me. I don't understand. He says it's because I crippled him, but Aunt Sylphiel swears it wasn't me, and it he never blamed me before."

"May be you should make him make you understand." Lina suggested.

"Huh?"

"Well, if he's not going to do anything with you, the least he can do is explain why."

"But how do I get him to do that?"

Lina smiled tiredly, "Ask! You've been avoiding him for weeks and he's been treating you like an ass! You have to stand up for yourself, tell him he's treating you unfairly and demand to know why!"

Lina sighed at the look of horror on her face, "Listen, I worry about you going out into the world and not knowing how to stand up for yourself. If you can't do it to your own brother, how are you going to do it to anyone else?"

"Oh." Gwynn said softly, "I guess you have a point."

"Of course I have a point, I'm your mother!" Lina said.

Gwynn nodded, "I'll go talk to him, right now!"

"Good!" Lina said as she stood up.

Gourry entered the room just as Gwynn was about to open the door to leave. "Hi Daddy. Have you seen Glynn?"

"He's down near the woods." Gourry said.

"Thanks." She said as she left.

Gourry looked at his wife, "What was that about?"

"I gave her a pep talk, told her Glynn owed her an explanation for his behavior."

"Hm. I just had a good heart to heart with him."

"Did you say he was by the woods?" Lina asked.

"Yes."

Lina thought for a moment before heading towards their bedroom, "Our north window has a good view of them."

* * *

Glynn was pulling up blades of grass when Gwynn found him. "Hey." She said.

He looked at her, his expression indecipherable. "Hey yourself."

"I have a right to know." She said quickly, "What I did wrong, why you're mad at me."

He smiled bitterly, "You'll find out in a few weeks. You didn't do anything, not really."

"What the…" she breathed as she turned around.

"Gwynn?" he asked, and then he felt it too. A fearsome sense of rage and lust for death.

"Take cover!" she cried as she unsheathed her sword.

Glynn ran towards her as he started to chant a spell. "Windy shield!" he cried as he reached her.

There was a volley of heat, and from somewhere a voice cackled menacingly. And then from the flames the figure of a ring embedded with hideous red eyes appeared. "A monster!" Glynn cried, before he started chanting a spell.

The situation was bad. With her plain metal sword there was little Gwynn could do against a monster. If anything, she was a liability. Glynn moved to protect her as he released a fireball, and felt panic arise within him when the monster absorbed it with no damage.

Gwynn turned around as she felt a second presence behind her, "Get out of the way!" she yelled as she pushed him away from her, just as a bright ball of blue energy exploded at her feet.

**AN: **

**If you liked the scene with Gourry teaching Glynn swordplay, thank pharoah999 for asking to see his teaching skills in action and making me actually have to research how swordplay is taught. The links below were where I got my info from.**

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	3. Chapter 3

**AN: The Zelas Brid is a spell found in the novels but not the anime. It's a spell that Lina was not able to cast until she got the talisman from Xellos.**

He could hear Gwynn's sharp intake of breath, followed by the ragged, wispy exhale of someone in tremendous pain. "Gwynn?" He asked, his voice harsh as he attempted to get up but found that he was pinned from the waist down by his twin.

"That was too easy." The monster who had started it said.

Glynn felt the bloodlust swell once more and swiftly yelled, "Windy Shield!"

A barrier protected them from another volley of energy as Gwynn shifted off of him, crying out a little as she did. "How bad are you hurt?" he asked, not daring to take his eyes off the enemy.

"My legs." She hissed through clenched teeth.

He could no longer avoid looking. His eyes widened as guilt filled him. By covering him she had definitely taken the brunt of the damage. Her legs were a bloodied, mangled mess, and he had to marvel at her self-control. He was sure that were it him, he would have been screaming on the ground in agony.

"I can't heal you without letting the shield down." He said in their language.

"I know." She replied as her hands dug into the ground, "And I'm afraid I'm rather useless right now."

"Where did the second one go?" he asked, feeling slightly panicky over the fact that the volley showed no sign of letting up.

"I'm not sure." She said. "He disappeared after attacking us."

Glynn took a deep breath. He couldn't keep holding the shield until help arrived, if it arrived. Gwynn needed medical care, and she needed it now, not an hour from now. "Here's what we're going to do." He said in their language, "And we have to move quickly because once I let the spell down, we're defenseless."

She nodded in agreement as he relayed his plan, clutching her sword more tightly as she drew it to her. "Ready when you are." She said.

He dropped the wind spell, and wasted no time in swiftly chanting his next one. "Dug Haut!"

Piers of earth rose from the ground, forming a barrier between them and the energy. Glynn grabbed his sister's hand, "Levitation!"

Gwynn cried out as they rose slightly into the air. A cloud of dust and debris began to form where the monster's spell collided with the piers of earth, providing some cover as they sped towards the palace.

"Nice try." A gravelly voice said, just as a more familiar one shouted, "Elmekia Lance!"

But the monster must have released his spell seconds before the other caster, for Glynn felt the burning heat of energy singe him, sending him off course and spiraling through the air, losing his grip on Gwynn as he fell to the ground, winding him.

Slowly he got to his feet to find that his parents had joined the fight. It looked as though Lina had taken the second monster out with the Elmekia Lance, for both were facing down the remaining one. At the moment it did not occur to him to be mortified at the idea of having to be rescued by his parents. Considering how bad their situation was, he couldn't be more grateful.

"Gwynn?" he choked as he looked around for his twin.

"Gourry, check on them!" his mother cried as Glynn's eyes settled on Gwynn, lying crumpled against a boulder and bleeding copiously from the head.

"Gwynn…" he whispered as he made his way there just as his father got there.

Gourry picked her up, "Are you okay?" he asked.

Glynn nodded numbly. He was fairly sure his collar bone was broken and he was a little singed. But that was nothing. Even in Seyruun he was fairly certain that no one could survive an injury like that. "Then help your mother while I get her to the healer."

Glynn turned towards his mother as his father ran in the opposite direction with his twin. Without considering his choice of spell too much he started chanting as he walked towards them. Fortunately the monster was so preoccupied with the fight Lina was giving him he did not pay much notice to Glynn.

As soon as he got close enough he finished the spell, "Zelas Brid!"

Lina turned around in surprise as Glynn controlled a thin but powerful band of energy towards the monster, who attempted to dodge. It did him no good. The benefit of the Zelas Brid spell was that it afforded the caster a lot of control in where it went, and soon Glynn had sliced it clean through.

He let the spell die as the monster crumbled to dust, staring at the now empty space that it used to occupy. "The Zelas Brid?" Lina asked, incredulously. "I could only cast that when I had my Demon's Blood Talisman."

He let out a sob as he sank to his knees, trembling frantically. Lina put her hands on his shoulders and attempted to get him to look into her eyes. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"She's dead." He whispered as the tears poured violently from his eyes.

Lina frowned as an icy hand clutched her heart. She'd been so busy taking care of the monsters that she'd not gotten a good look at Gwynn. Still, Glynn must have misunderstood or was exaggerating, "No, she's not!" she insisted.

"No one can survive a wound like that!"

"You should see some of the stuff that I've survived! I was shot clean through the belly once, and I made it. And I wasn't even in Seyruun. She's fine, when we get to the temple you'll see."

Suddenly he lunged for her, wrapping his arms around her tightly as he sobbed. Unbidden a feeling of panic started to overtake her. Surely it was a misunderstanding, but she would feel better once she saw for herself, made sure that she was okay. And she couldn't do that with Glynn clinging to her so!

"Pull yourself together! Come on, let's go check on her." She snapped.

"I'm sorry." He whispered as he made no motion to move. "I'm so sorry."

* * *

It had been nearly fifteen years ago that Gourry had watched helplessly as Seyruun's top healers had worked to revive his son. And now he found himself frozen to the spot yet again as he watched them as they struggled to get Gwynn's heart to beat. It wasn't when he got to the palace courtyard and caused quite a stir as guard surrounded them and called for a healer. For a brief moment they had revived her, but then they quickly lost her.

Certainly the damage could be repaired if they could just get her heart to stay beating!

Dimly he was aware of the sound of footsteps running through the hallway, progressively getting louder. Still, it was a slight shock when he saw Lucia barrel in. Somehow with all of the commotion they caused when they got to the palace the news must have reached her.

"No!" she cried as she grabbed his arm tightly. "What's happening?" she asked as she went up to the group of healers.

Sylphiel barely looked up as she cautioned, "Stay out of the way!"

Lucia opened her mouth to snap back when Gourry grabbed her and held her to him. "Let them do their jobs." He said, his voice sounding far away as though it was echoing through a long tunnel.

"But she's not breathing!" Lucia protested, her voice hot with rage.

"What?" Lina screamed as she bolted in just in time to hear Lucia's statement and looked to Gourry for confirmation. Glynn slowly followed and hung back around the doorway, eyes red rimmed and expression downcast.

"It's bad." He said.

She stared at him in disbelief and then made her way to where the healers were hard at work. She hissed as she swayed on her feet. Lucia and Gourry both ran forward to steady her and help to steer her to a chair. She sat stiffly, her eyes staring straight ahead but seeming to see nothing.

For a while the only people who said anything were the healers. The minutes that passed seemed to morph and cruelly stretch into hours. Finally someone said, "We've got a heartbeat!"

All four looked up as the chaos around the bed seemed to change. "Aunt Sylphiel's casting a Resurrection spell." Lucia said, relief tinting her voice.

Glynn started walking away from the door and closer to his family. Both of his parents were crying, and his father was gently stroking his mother's arm with one hand while he held Lucia close with the other. His sister was holding Lina's hand tightly as they watched hopefully. He knelt on the floor next to his mother and rested his head on her knee. It took a minute, but it was not long before she started to stroke his hair.

They watched tensely until Sylphiel slumped forward and smiled slightly. Quietly she walked to them and said, "You can see her now. She'll sleep for a while, but when she wakes she'll be fine."

* * *

For so long the noise and chaos has defined her home life that she had grown used to it, if it wasn't driving her bonkers that was. And there were times it did, and Lina had longed for the quiet she used to enjoy when she could pursue her research in quiet without the interruptions. When there was no one to ask her help to find their shoe, or referee an argument with their sibling, or to rat out their sibling and go upstairs to find that one of them had managed to make a mess somehow or another.

But had she ever really stopped to appreciate it? To be thankful that there was noise and chaos and that the three of them were there? And if she had, was it enough? And why had it taken the near death of one of them to get her to appreciate it? And to realize just how much she was going to miss them when they left home.

Slowly Lina walked towards Gwynn's room, where her children were gathered and talking noisily. The door was open just enough so that Lina could see Lucia perched behind Gwynn on the bed, scissors in hand as she worked to cut the hair that had been singed in the attack. Glynn sat close by on a chair.

"Just don't cut it too short!" Gwynn said.

"Why not? You could pull off the look." Lucia asked.

"It's bad enough that I'm taller than a lot of men. I don't want hair shorter than theirs, too!"

"Be happy you're tall." Glynn said, "Being short sucks."

"Being tall isn't much fun, either." Gwynn countered.

Lina leaned in the doorframe, arms folded as Lucia said, "Well, it's not as if it's stopped men from paying attention. Benny has sent you a plate of sweets and hopes that you feel better soon."

"Oh." Gwynn said, blushing slightly. "Too bad I don't like sweets."

"I'll eat them!" Glynn piped in.

"Are we being too noisy, Mom?" Lucia asked.

"No." Lina said, "You're fine."

_I just like knowing you are all here and safe._ She added to herself as she watched them. When her eyes fell on Glynn her stomach hardened with anxiety as she thought of how carefully she had watched every milestone he had reached, how she had obsessed over his development more than his sisters', about how hard she drove him, because if she did all of those things for him after he was born, then may be what she didn't do for him before could be excused and forgiven.

But she would never know if she didn't say anything. And for a while that seemed best. But Gwynn had nearly died, and what was worse, is she would still have been on poor terms with Glynn for something that wasn't her fault. Lina could not let that happen again.

"Actually, I've got something to say." She continued as all three braced themselves for a lecture. Lina smiled tiredly. "Actually to confess. Gwynn was never the reason Glynn had the seizure."

"We know that, Mom." Lucia said. "Aunt Sylphiel explained."

"Did she tell you I went into labor too early?" Lina asked.

Lucia shook her head. Silence permeated the room for a moment before Lina spoke again, "I was seven months pregnant. They were able to shut it down, but the catch was that I had to stay in a ward in the temple for the next two months. It should have been the easiest thing in the world, you know. All I had to do was to stay in bed. But somehow I messed it up. I fell out of it a month early and my water broke and you two were born premature."

She looked down as she ran a hand through her hair, not wanting to see the look on their faces. "Gwynn was fine. But Glynn had a hard time breathing, and then he had the seizure. And he probably wouldn't have if I could have just parked my ass there for another month.

"So Gwynn, I don't want you taking responsibility for something that isn't your fault. And Glynn, that's why I always pushed you so hard. To make up for not doing my best. I figured if I could get you to a point where there was no obvious damage from the seizure than it wouldn't matter. And maybe I pushed too hard. But either way, it wasn't your sister's fault, so I don't want you blaming her."

There was a tense moment where Lina waited, either for their forgiveness or condemnation. Instead they stared at her, stunned. Lina smiled wryly and turned around, "Just thought you should know."

She folded her arms across her torso and walked into the living room where Gourry was sitting on a couch looking stern. "You know Sylphiel said he still could have had that seizure if they hadn't been born early."

"And even Sylphiel said it would have been less likely." Lina retorted.

The door to Gwynn's room slammed shut and Glynn came charging out, his blue eyes flaming with intensity. "Am I really so bad off?" he asked.

"Huh?" Lina asked.

"Am I really so pathetic and bad off that you've had to mope to yourself all these years about what you did to me?" he elaborated. "I mean, I can walk, I can talk, I can cast the Zelas Brid without amplification. I can be independent! Am I really so bad off that it's worth blame and guilt?"

Lina bit her lip as she felt tears well up. "No." she whispered, "We didn't know for a long time how far you would go."

"And you've gone farther than we hoped at first." Gourry added.

"Because you pushed me so hard." Glynn said as he looked at his mother, "You wouldn't let me whine and give up. You didn't let me end up like Jerry Selpam two blocks down whose mother does everything for him but could do more if he really tried. You didn't coddle me, because you believed in me!"

He shrugged, "Maybe I'm not perfect, but I'm a damn site closer to it than my sisters, and don't you forget it. Oh!" he said as he lowered his voice, "I've given it some thought, and Gwynn and I wouldn't have so embarrassingly gotten our asses kicked if she'd had the Blast Sword. So I guess I'll let her borrow it until we won't need it anymore."

He smiled, "So I guess it can be a very extended loan type thing."

He shoved his hands in his pockets and walked back into Gwynn's room. Lina and Gourry exchanged a befuddled look. "Well, I'll say one thing." Lina said, "After fifteen years he still keeps finding ways to surprise me."

* * *

Gourry sat on the floor as Lina sat perched on the bed, running a brush through his hair. "It was always an easy decision when it was just you and me." He said, "I had to protect you. But with you and Gwynn and Glynn. And when I saw how badly Gwynn was hurt, I knew I had to get her help then, but it meant leaving you two behind. It left me sick to my stomach."

"Glynn and I took care of the remaining monster no problem." Lina said, "He's even using spells I didn't expect he could use. Spells I couldn't use without the talisman. You did the right thing by getting Gwynn help as soon as possible."

"Afterwords I thought it would have been faster if Glynn has used that flying spell."

"Not with their combined weight." Lina said as she ran her hand through his hair one final time and then handed him the brush.

He got up onto the bed behind her and started giving her hair the same treatment. He put one hand on her shoulder to gather the mass of red locks and frowned. "You're so tense."

"Can't hide anything from you, can I?" she said.

"What is it?"

"I just keep thinking that karma's a bitch."

"Huh?" he asked as he released her hair and started to run the brush through it.

"All those years I was away from home, I never gave one thought to what I was putting my parents through. They knew about all of the dangerous things out there, and I was a lot younger than the twins when I left. All those years, never knowing if I was alive and safe, or if I was hurt and under attack. Getting the occasional scrap of information from Sis. No wonder they were so grey when I got back.

"And now I'm about to experience that, but with two of them. And after today, it's making me feel especially…unsettled. Especially since I don't think that was some random attack."

"What do you mean?"

"Some of the things the twins said. It seems they were targeted, as if the monster race got wind of the fact that some of our children were going to be unleashed on the world and wanted to sniff out the competition. I'm scared that they might have a target painted on their backs." Lina sighed, "Though, considering how poor of a first impression they gave, maybe they'll leave well enough alone."

He brushed her hair quietly for a minute before asking, "What are you wanting to do?"

"What can we do?" she asked, "We have to let them go or they'll resent us forever. I just didn't think it would be so hard."

He moved so that he was facing her and smiled warmly, "We still have another year before that happens. So we'd better make it count."

* * *

By the time it came to celebrate Lucia's birthday, Gwynn had made a full recovery. Once again the walls of their apartments reverberated with talk and laughter and entirely too much noise as the three siblings acted as though the war that had divided them when they first reached Seyruun had never occurred. The nerves and fears that had accompanied the impending arrival of the twins' birthday and the bestowing of the sword lessened, and Lina and Gourry found themselves struggling to take in every moment, knowing soon that they would each be following their own paths and each bird launched out of the nest.

After breakfast on the morning of the twins' birthday, Lina watched Glynn carefully as he opened the package. His eyes were marred with confusion as he pulled out a thick stack of parchment. "Um, thanks, but you know I'm still not big with the reading."

"And do you think that after thanking me for pushing you so hard I'm going to let you use that excuse to not study about the Giga Slave?" she shot back.

His eyes widened as he looked at the parchment again, noting that it was in her elegant handwriting. "I've been researching the spell since I was ten. Everything I've learned is in there. And for that reason it is quite possibly the most dangerous manuscript in existence." Lina explained, "This isn't a spell to be taken lightly, or to be used in any old circumstance. If you ever need to use some caution, it is with this spell, because if you, or anyone else, loses control of it, it will destroy the world. Got it?"

Glynn met her gaze as he nodded. Lina took a deep breath. "Good. We'll work our way through the manuscript this year. But first, I want to tell you about the times I used the Giga Slave, and why I felt those situations warranted such a dangerous spell."

Glynn arranged himself on the couch so he was sitting comfortably and leaned forward to listen carefully as his mother relived her adventures.

* * *

"I don't know." Gwynn said as she walked to the sparring field with her father, "The whole incident with the monsters got me thinking that if I did travel with Glynn that I'd be in the way. May be I'll stay home with you and Mom and give lessons."

Gourry's heart started to ache. He wanted one of them to stay home desperately, but somehow it didn't seem right to clip her wings. "Whatever decision you make, we'll support you." He said, "Though, there's something you should know before you make up your mind."

"Oh?" she asked.

"It's the matter of who inherits the Blast Sword."

"Oh." Gwynn said, "Well, I always thought Lucia would. She's the oldest."

"I never said the oldest would get it." Gourry said. "I've always said that one who could do the most good with it would get it. And that's you, Gwynn."

Gwynn stopped in her tracks as her eyes widened. "Really?"

A strange feeling took hold of him as he unbuckled his sword from his belt. A wondrous mixture of pride and sadness as he clasped it with both hands and held it out to her. As he did a feeling of completion swelled within him. He had taken the Sword of Light from his family, to protect them. He had wished desperately that it had been passed down, from parent to child, but for him that was not the case.

But for his child it was. He was passing on a new heirloom to the next generation. He had dreamed of this moment for a long time, long before he had even met Lina. And now it was here. Goosebumps formed on his flesh as Gwynn tentatively reached out for it before grasping it firmly, her face breaking into a grin as she unsheathed it. "Want to watch as I put it through its paces?" she asked, blue eyes shining.

Gourry didn't trust himself to talk. He nodded, and followed her the rest of the distance to the sparring field.

**AN: Whether or not to have Glynn be powerful enough to cast the Zelas Brid without amplification was something I struggled with a lot because the anime leaves the possibility open that Lina could have been able to cast the Ragna Blade without amplification, while in the books she knew about the Ragna Blade and other high level spells, but neither she nor anyone else could cast them because a human's magical capacity was not large enough so a magical boost was required to cast them. Eventually I decided that since this follows the anime plotline there was enough of a question mark as to how magic works there that it could be possible that Glynn could cast very high level spells without amplification.**


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